Increase in Employment
Population Shifts
Increase in College Attendance
Civil Rights Movement
Arms Race Begins / Technology Breakthroughs
Television / Rock and Roll
Section 2: Political Conditions / Concerns
Harry Truman
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Korean War
McCarthyism
Space Race
Dangers of the Garrison State
Section 3: Economic Conditions / Concerns
Inflation
Balance of Trade
Federal Reserve Board Policies
Eisenhower's Administration Policies
Developments in Business Sector and Capital Markets
Increase in Financial Intermediaries
Fiscal Year 1958
Decade of Large Government Budgets
Technological Acceleration
Pre-Korean Recovery
Military Budget
Monetary Policy vs. Debt Management
Section 1: Social Conditions / Concerns
The 1950s socially was an exciting and eventful time to be alive. During the 1950s was when most of the now known "baby boomers" were growing up. On the homefront, many things began to change during the 1950s. During the forties, many men were across the ocean fighting in WWII, and women began to work, supporting their families and building careers for themselves. Throughout the 1950s both unemployment and inflation remained low. At this time, though the war was over, many women kept their careers. This is evident by the constant increase in the female employment data compiled in the Economic Report of the President. From 1950 to 1959, the total number of females employed increased by 18%. The standard of living during the fifties also steadily rose. Most people expected to own a car and a house, and believed that life for their children would be even better.
Americans during the 1950s were on the move. The population was shifting from the country to the city, then to the suburbs. More people moved from the Northeast and Midwestern sections of the country to the West and the South. Each year, one out of every five families packed up and left for somewhere else. (Chalmers, p. 5) One of